I'll be There for You
by Fafsernir
Summary: [AU: Friends(Mondler)-like meeting, but no need to have watched Friends] Jack and Ianto don't exactly start off the right foot. It doesn't mean they can't be friends, right?
1. Chapter 1

_(long note, I know, but please read to know about the AU)_

 _Ooookay a bit of context needed for this (ahem, again) AU fic! For those who follow me with my other Torchwood fics, you know I've been away from the Torchwood fandom since I've watched Friends, and one thing I did while watching Friends was, apart from shipping really hard Monica and Chandler, comparing my favourite couple to Janto. Because Janto is never very far in my mind ;) So, yeah, I found similarities with Janto & Mondler, and mika-pirkaf (go check Tumblr, she's awesome) also did. we started talking and as often (when an idea has been on my mind and I finally talk about it), I ended up writing a fic, because why the hell not. And as ALWAYS, it got out of hands and now I want to write a whole chaptered fic._

 _Okay, moving on to what you need to know:_ Do you need to have watched Friends? _Nope. It sure will help getting references, but it's not necessary, it's still a Janto story. It's basically scenes between Monica and Chandler, but modified to fit at best to Ianto and Jack._

 _Things you might want to know or else you won't understand: Yeah, Ianto has Rhiannon in canon, that's true, but for this story I (actually we, because mika-pirkaf helped me a great deal!) decided to change who his sibling was. For this story, the Doctor is Ianto's older brother, and he's named John, otherwise it was weird/harder to write. Ianto's (and John's, therefore) parents are named George and Mary; and Ianto's best friend is Rose. Try and stop me. Other Torchwood characters will appear later on ;)_

 _Oh, and it's set in the 90s for this chapter. Jack's and Ianto's behaviours are not the same as I plan them to be later in the story so don't worry, it will fit the characters more later. (For now, Jack's in his first year of College and Ianto is in his last year of high school)_

* * *

Ianto flattened his shirt nervously, then pulled at it to take it out of his pants. He looked down at himself, pouted, and tucked his top back in his jeans. Yeah, it was definitely better. As thin as his brother was, the clothes he had inherited from him were surprisingly big. Way too big. The fact that he was anxious didn't help him feel good in them.

"Did you clean your room?" his mother asked as she walked pass him.

He mumbled affirmatively, only for his father to flick the back of his head. "Behave yourself, your brother is coming."

As if Ianto wasn't aware of that. His brother and some friend of his' from College were about to arrive, which was the main reason why Ianto felt nervous. He didn't like people that much. Well, he did, but he wasn't that good at interacting with them, especially lately. He only had one friend and he was fine with it most of the time. Other kids said he was weird and it hurt him too much to want to be friend with them. Not that he had ever said so to anyone, not even Rose.

The doorbell rang and Ianto smiled, flattening his shirt one last time before almost running to the door.

"Merry Christmas!" he said excitedly to the young girl on the other side.

Rose smiled at him and walked in. They had known each other for so many years – their parents were friends so they had become friends – and Ianto could tell she felt a bit down.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I'm just worried about my mum."

She was spending Christmas with the Joneses because her mother was working on Christmas Eve – her father had died a long time ago. She knew everyone in the family rather well, so she quickly moved to the living room to greet Ianto's parents.

"George, Mary, great to see you again."

"Oh, Rose, I'm glad you're here! How's your mother?" George enquired, a genuine smile on his face.

Ianto sighed. He loved Rose, but sometimes he was jealous of how much his own father loved her as his daughter. Ianto knew he'd have rather raised a girl, but he got a second boy and he never had much interest in Ianto. Well, of course he had, especially when Ianto was failing, or that he needed to put John on a pedestal. He really never missed an occasion to put Ianto down. Ianto was pretty sure George had already said more than once that Rose was like her second child.

Ianto shifted his weight, his hands in his pockets, waiting for the conversation to die out so he could talk to Rose and feel a little less shitty about himself.

The doorbell rang again, and George abandoned all conversation to greet his prodigy son. At least, Ianto could talk to Rose now. He still glanced at his brother and his friend, because as competitive as they had been only a few months earlier, now that John was off to College, Ianto missed his presence.

He was standing next to a boy that Ianto didn't notice right away. No, he first saw that they both were wearing way too big embellished jeans – ugly, oh so ugly! – and tainted glasses. They looked pretty stupid in Ianto's eyes. Sure, it was trendy, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't be for long, and as far as he was concerned, it wasn't always good to follow the trend. Just like those awful jeans.

Then he really took a second to look at their faces and he felt his heart beat faster in his chest. John's friend was a bit taller than Ianto, he had dark, half-short, half-long and half-curled, half-straight hair – he wasn't sure what he had tried to do with his hair, but it didn't look that good – and the most beautiful eyes Ianto had ever seen, even through the tainted glasses. He had never really stared deep into someone's eyes. His mother's were beautiful and he loved them, but it was his mother's. This boy's eyes – Jack, as John introduced him a few seconds later – were just mesmerizing. And his smile was just so handsome.

 _He_ was so handsome, no matter how ridiculous his clothes looked in Ianto's eyes.

And he was back with that uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong, that he was wrong. He wasn't supposed to feel that way towards other men. He had tried to repress it, had thought he had gotten over it, because he had felt it with girls. But it was back. If he had panicked about the feeling at first because he couldn't even name it, by now he knew it was attraction. The problem was that he still panicked when he was attracted to other boys, and it seemed strong with Jack.

He wasn't even paying much attention to Ianto. Ianto wanted to talk to him, ask him questions, but each time he stood in the same room, he found himself opening and closing his mouth, or doing a weird, embarrassing noise.

At the end of the dinner, Ianto couldn't keep count of how many times he had blushed or make himself a fool by being a mess. On the bright side, Jack didn't seem to care much. On the way less bright side, Jack didn't seem to care at all. For once in his life, Ianto wanted someone to notice him. He wanted to impress him, or him to be interested, whatever; he wanted a reaction from Jack, hopefully a positive one.

He even made him coffee, after babbling some more, because how in God's name was he supposed to make himself interesting enough for someone like Jack? Coffee was the only thing he knew he was really good at. What was he even supposed to say? He'd asked what he was studying, where he was living, and that was pretty much all. He hadn't dared to ask why he didn't like Christmas much. He only knew, thanks to John, that he didn't. But Ianto guessed that whatever reason he had to hate it, he probably didn't want to share, so Ianto didn't ask, even if it meant having no subject of conversation.

The dinner was done, everyone going their own way – the parents in the living-room, watching TV, the two youngest talking together, and the two College students doing the dishes – and Ianto thought that he should try at least one last time to befriend Jack. He walked into the kitchen, hoping that maybe he would magically find a subject to talk about.

"Are you trying to ditch me on Christmas?" he heard Jack say. Was John going to leave?

"You can stay here, my parents won't mind." Ianto sure wouldn't mind either.

"What, and leave me alone with that weird brother of yours?"

"Hey, he's not weird."

Ianto didn't even listen to John's defence. He gulped, his vision blurred, and he silently turned on his heels, almost running upstairs. Jack thought he was weird, too. He wasn't different from the others, and Ianto had tried to be interesting for him. He had tried to be something he wasn't, apparently. He was just a weird guy, as everyone seem to be thinking and telling him.

"What happened? I saw you disappearing upstairs," Rose's soft voice said, not long after.

Ianto had almost forgotten about her presence in the house. She had picked up that something was different about Ianto the whole night, but she hadn't been able to guess what. She was just worried, and Ianto felt guilty. He had been less with her just to try to talk with a guy that didn't care about him. What was up with him?!

"Nothing, I'm fine," he shrugged.

"Yeah, right," she scoffed. She walked to his bed, sitting at the end and smiling at him. "Come on, you can tell me."

He knew he could trust her; he was his only friend, and even if she sometimes gossiped, she could keep secrets. So he did tell her, as briefly as possible.

By the end, once the shock that Ianto was something between gay and straight passed, she jumped on her feet, her hands on her hips, looking outraged. "That guy's a jerk! You deserve better than that! I can't believe he said that. You're not weird!"

"Thanks, but they're all saying it..."

"Well, _I_ don't think you're weird, okay? Doesn't my opinion count?"

"It does, but..."

"You're a great person, and Jack doesn't know what he's missing. Now you go downstairs and prove him wrong," she cute him, looking way too motivated.

"How? I've been making a fool of myself all night already," Ianto shook his head, not as enthusiastic about proving Jack that he was wrong.

"We're gonna figure it out!"

"Well, I'd rather figure it out before going downstairs," he shrugged.

Rose tried to think, then concluded that they didn't need to get back at Jack now. Ianto didn't know if he would ever see him again to do it later, but he agreed nonetheless. He didn't even want to get back at him or anything, he was just feeling down because of his words, despite Rose's attempts to cheer him up.

Except that maybe he did want to get back at him, and every one that had ever stated that he was weird. He wasn't weird.


	2. Chapter 2

_I won't always update that quickly, but this chapter wrote itself after the previous one, so there you go! Huge thanks to everyone who answered positively to this fic, I'm glad you're liking it!_ _And again thanks to mika-pirkaf who helped me come up with ideas, and for her support, it really motivated me to write fast._

 _This is set a year later ;)_

* * *

Jack stuffed his hands in his pockets, not really wanting to be there. It was either this or the awkward, dead silence with his mother. The choice was quickly made. Plus, he actually really enjoyed being with John, even if sometimes he just had to roll his eyes when he mentioned River. She was his girlfriend – had been for a couple of months now – and sometimes, John couldn't shut up about how amazing she was. Not that she wasn't amazing. Jack actually loved her, she was nice and had a lot of common interests with him, and she was pretty awesome, that was true. But hearing about it a lot could upset Jack. John was still his best friend, though, and he had moved on from his "small" crush on Rose at least, so nothing awkward would happen on this Christmas dinner.

Jack was lost in his thoughts when the door opened, and he quickly glanced up before following John inside, greeting the family nervously – John's father remark about how he was "that boy that didn't enjoy Christmas" didn't really boost Jack's faith in this dinner. He was prepared to be bored in the middle of people that knew each other too well. He was used to being the black sheep anyway.

His brain stopped when John's brother entered the room. He remembered him from the year before. He had been a bit weird, asking him questions but also looking really uncomfortable, which had made Jack uncomfortable. He didn't look weird at all now. First of all, he looked sexy as hell. He was wearing a freaking suit as if this night was the most important, formal event of his life – not that Jack was complaining. It was very fit, and he looked truly good in it, as if he had been born to wear suits. Jack definitely appreciated the outfit, compared to the worn out, too big shirt he had been wearing the year before.

But it wasn't just the suit. It was the whole feeling coming out of him. He looked way more confident than a year before. He was nailing the suit, he was looking very handsome, and he bloody knew it. He had one hand casually placed in his pocket, the other adjusting his tie, and Jack had to gulp so he wouldn't drool all over the place. And his eyes – his eyes! Had they looked that way the last time? So confident, so beautiful? Ianto didn't appear too full of himself, or over-confident, just confident enough. He had gained on some weight as well, and looked healthier than his skinny shape from the year before.

He really looked so very handsome. Like the male version of Helen, and Jack wanted him probably as much as all those suitors had wanted the beautiful Helen.

"Wow, you look... good," Jack finally stuttered after a few seconds of staring too long at Ianto's... at Ianto.

"Yeah, the suit is very beautiful, we know. John, tell us about your new girlfriend!"

A shadow passed in Ianto's eyes, and he left the living room to go into the kitchen, Rose – Jack hadn't even noticed her – following right away. Jack didn't want to talk about John's new girlfriend, he already knew everything there was to know. Jack wanted to speak with Ianto, to be with him or just to stare a bit longer at him. Anything near him, really.

He tried to stay with John and his parents for a while, he really did, because he was here because of John, but he just couldn't anymore, and decided to walk into the kitchen. He could find an excuse to talk to Ianto.

Rose quickly fled the room, gesturing things that Jack didn't understand at Ianto, but he was glad she left.

"Hey, I thought maybe you could brew me some coffee like last year? It was really good," Jack flashed his grin, which he knew looked good on him.

Ianto nodded, quickly preparing a coffee, but with trembling hands.

"So," Ianto chuckled to himself, "coffee before eating? That's new."

Wow, he wasn't very good at flirting. But at least he was trying, and that was all that mattered for Jack. He was interested too!

"What can I say, your coffee's irresistible." _And so are you_ , Jack thought, staring right into Ianto's eyes.

He saw his confident smile fade and being replaced with a slight blush as he hastily concentrated on making a coffee, and Jack couldn't have been prouder. He was so adorable!

"So has anything interesting happened lately?" Jack asked, leaning casually against the counter, as close to Ianto as possible. Almost touching him, but not quite so. Ianto shrugged as an answer. "Nothing exciting? No girlfriend?" Ianto shook his head, taking the freshly made cup from the coffee machine. "No boyfriend?" Jack ventured, his arms crossed on his chest now.

At his question, Ianto... well, Jack wasn't sure what happened exactly, but Ianto must have let go of everything because before long, Jack was soaked.

It happened both slowly and quickly. Slowly enough for Jack to think he was completely doomed, quickly enough for Jack to be unable to do anything about it. He saw the water and a moment later, he _felt_ it.

Now, he had already accidentally touched a pan on the fire, he had already played with the flame of a candle or lighter... He had even gotten oil projected on him from a pan. It all hurt for a fleeting moment.  
This one was pure, simple pain. It was burning hot and Jack's only reflex was to open his mouth to express his pain, except that no sound passed his lips. He just stood there, pain shooting through his body. Oh, it burnt, how it burnt.

* * *

He didn't remember much of what happened next. There was a lot of shouting from other people, and Jack whimpered. Did he faint? He didn't know. He sure spaced out. He remembered the hospital, or some of it.

Never in a billion years would he have imagined that one could get a serious burn with hot water. As he hadn't stripped instantly, his shirt had been hard to take off and – yikes. Maybe he wasn't ready to think back about it yet. The doctor had told him he would probably have a trace for a while, but the way he had announced it clearly meant that he would be marked for life.

People had cool scars with cool stories, and he suddenly had this stupid burn because a good-looking guy had spilled hot boiling water on him. He really, really didn't like Christmas. Just one more reason to hate this period of the year.

He spent the night with the Joneses, having refused to warn his mother about his situation. She would have stressed out too much, especially on Christmas day. He didn't want to bother her, and he didn't even want her to know about this. It was just so ridiculous.

He even forgot about Ianto, until he was lying on the floor next to John's bed, unable to sleep. John had fallen easily asleep, after a call to River that still embarrassed Jack because of how he had told her everything. He had hoped he could lie to her, but he shouldn't even have thought about it with John in the same room.

So he was lying on his back and trying to sleep. He had tried turning on his side, but it was too painful, even if he turned only a bit. He had tried imagining stories, which sometimes helped him, but it was of no use. He wouldn't sleep, his entire chest hurt – gladly, as glad as he could be, the water had spread only on his arm and a small part of his chest – and his mind wouldn't stop working. So he silently stood, with much difficulty, and stumbled out of the bedroom, finding his way in the dark. He could see enough to make his way downstairs without hurting himself and realized that the reason was because someone had turned the light of the kitchen on.

Curious, and probably doomed to spend the night awake, he walked to the room, but froze when he saw Ianto there. Should he talk to him?

He was tidying the kitchen, visibly, checking bags of different coffees while he hummed and moved softly to the music he apparently had in mind. He still looked handsome, especially concentrated on his task, but Jack suddenly didn't want to flirt with him anymore. He didn't hate him or refuse to talk to him, but he wasn't sure flirting with him would ever end up well. That was stupid, but he could find someone else looking really good in College. Someone who wouldn't throw burning water at him.

So he cleared his throat, making Ianto spill beans of the coffee he was holding. It maybe was mean, but Jack thought it was only deserved – okay, he didn't hate him, but the guy had still burnt him! – and couldn't help but grin.

"Can't sleep, huh?" he asked as he took pity on Ianto and helped him clean.

"I'm not much of a sleeper," Ianto shrugged. He was about to add something, but Jack winced and froze. "Let me do that," he said, gently pushing Jack away.

He stood on the side, watching Ianto and trying not to scratch his painful skin.

"For what it's worth," Ianto said after a while, almost done with his cleaning, "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay."

"But why would you stand so close..."

Ianto frowned, apparently realising he had spoken his thoughts, and Jack grinned. "Now it's my fault? You spilled the coffee."

"Hey, you were the one saying inappropriate things!"

"I was simply asking you about your life!"

Jack was having fun, and Ianto clearly was too, although he was better at hiding it. They kept falsely arguing for a while, until Jack's stomach growled.

"Oh God, you totally missed dinner. Do you want something?"

The family had eaten when they had come back from the hospital, but Jack hadn't felt like socializing or eating, so he had just lain on John's bed until it had been time for everyone to sleep. Of course, now he was hungry in the middle of the night so he nodded.

As the clock was nearing three in the morning, Jack couldn't believe that he was waiting for Ianto to quickly re-heat some leftovers for him when, only hours earlier, he had spilled boiling water on him. They both seemed to drop the idea of flirting with the other, though. But Jack didn't really mind as they turned out to have more common interests than Jack would have thought. Maybe they were better off as friends, or acquaintances. Maybe it was just a lesson:Jack shouldn't have tried to flirt with his best friend's brother. Lesson learnt.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thing I forgot to put in the previous chapter: in the first chapter, I mentioned Jack being taller than Ianto. I wanted Ianto to grow a few centimeters during the year when they didn't talk to each other, because it added a change in him, but I totally forgot to write it. So, now they're about the same height, just like they are in the show. That's in case in the future I mention they're the same height, that's normal :p_

 _Thank you for your comments, I'm having fun with this story, and I'm glad some of you enjoy it as well. And again, thanks to mika-pirkaf (tumblr) for her ideas and help._

* * *

Ianto groaned as his arms started to hurt but he didn't let go just yet, moving slightly and... yes! He dropped – without damaging – the couch back on its rightful place and looked around, satisfied. He'd come home from a long day, frustrated and tired, and he had decided to clean the entire flat. Not that it was dirty, but it had been a long time since he had last moved all his furniture around to clean really properly everywhere. He was rather happy of the results.

Just as he was about to throw himself on the comfortable couch, there was a knock on his door and he sighed, slowly walking to it.

"Hi! I'm Jack, I just moved in the flat across the hall, and I thought we could watch a movie together because my couch is still stuck with my bed on the road, and they said I would have it by tomorrow?"

Ianto rolled his eyes, but he was chuckling. He had almost forgotten about Jack as he was cleaning rigorously.

"Ah, but my mum taught me never to invite strangers over," he playfully answered.

"I have beers...?"

"What are you waiting for, then?"

They both smiled, sinking on the couch not long after and turning on the TV, mainly to have a background sound because they talked most of the time.

After the accident of Ianto... well, literally burning Jack, they hadn't seen or talked to each other until Ianto had visited John at College, but he had had to wait for him. Jack, being his room-mate, had stayed with him and, after working on an assignment, he had turned to Ianto and talked with him. After that, they had talked to each other more and more, without them having to meet because of John, but grabbing a coffee or watching a movie occasionally. They had become great friends, even more so when Ianto and Rose had naturally drifted apart as they made different choices in their studies. Ianto went to College, then dropped out to follow a barista training but he wasn't even sure what Rose had settled for, in the end – he knew she had changed a couple of times. Jack didn't have many friends either, and he seemed to enjoy Ianto's presence, so they had kept talking, until Jack had finished his studies and found himself a bit lost about what he could do or where he could work. When Ianto had told him his neighbour was moving out, he had decided to rent the flat across Ianto's.

Ianto truly appreciated the fact that he'd be living so close now. He felt a bit lonely in his life, his colleagues were just colleagues, and John and River were nice, but they were living together and doing more and more things just the two of them. He understood, but it had left him – and Jack, apparently – rather lonely. So they were becoming closer friends everyday, always enjoying the other's company. Silences weren't awkward, they trusted each other, they were growing more and more comfortable – putting feet on the other's lap, half lying on each other...

Sometimes, when they were out with John and River, people thought they were on double dates. Ianto had actually given it a thought, more than once. He wasn't sure his feelings towards Jack were entirely platonic, but they weren't romantic enough for him to risk ruining their friendship. If his crush had disappeared for a long time, since they saw each other regularly, Ianto wondered. Not that he would act upon it, but maybe it was there, sometimes completely hidden if Ianto pretended it was only strong friendship.

"Do you think I should find a room-mate?" Ianto asked suddenly, frowning. Better talk than think about Jack that way.

He had seriously been thinking about his job and how he could save some money and the idea had floated over his head ever since Jack had been looking for something to do and a place to live. He had considered offering him to be his room-mate, but he wasn't sure he wanted to be room-mate with someone he already knew well. He didn't want it to jeopardize their friendship if he eventually didn't like having someone else living with him. And it was a good way to meet someone new, too.

"What?"

"Well, you know, to help with the rent..."

"Do you need money? I can lend you money," Jack said casually, his eyes glued to the television.

Ianto rolled his eyes, nudging him with his foot. "I don't need money, mister 'oh I'm making thousands an hour.'"

Jack laughed, then sent his most innocent grin. "Doesn't waiter pay much?"

"Haha very funny. I'm not a waiter."

"You make and serve coffee, Ianto. I don't know what else the waiters you know do..."

"One day, I'll give you decaf without any warning..." Ianto said slowly.

Jack gasped, his hand on his heart. "Not decaf!" They both chuckled, but Jack eventually straightened a bit, putting his hand on Ianto's leg. "You sure you want a room-mate? That's pretty... well, you're gonna be living with someone else."

"I know," Ianto sighed. "But I used to live with my grandma here. Now that she left the place, it's a bit empty, and I could use the extra bucks each month..."

"I see..."

"That way, I can buy you more gifts!"

"You have got to take a room-mate!" Jack instantly exclaimed. "Seriously though, why not? I guess it'd be a good experience for you. And I'd love to help you pick one! As soon as I receive my bed, of course."

"You could take one too!"

"Nah, I'm fine on my own."

"On your own but sleeping in my guest room?"

"I didn't block the road or told them to forget my bed and have to go back," Jack mumbled, still angry that they had delayed his settling.

Ianto smiled, and they quietly went back to watching TV, both starting to get tired. When Ianto started to doze off, he stood to go to sleep and Jack followed, going into the second room after thanking him for letting him crash.


End file.
